The File
by SapphireGirl93
Summary: After a year of covert operating, Roxanne is finally ready for the story that will be the pinnacle of her career. Who knew that one little story could lead to such interesting fun and games with Metro City's infamous blue bad boy? Rated T for a wee bit o' steaminess!
1. Chapter 1

**This is just one of those situations where an entire story takes off from an idea that I had about one single conversation. I had no clue that this little creation would come out of a snippet of banter that started out to be no more than a few lines long! **

**Yes, this story is a bit steamy (there, you've had your fair warning), but the steam doesn't start to roll until the next chapter. In the mean time, have fun, all you fans of our wickedly handsome blue bad boy!**

**Of course, it goes without saying that I don't own Megamind or any of the other characters in this story. Okay, there... had to say it. Now go ahead, read and have fun!**

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"Where did he_ put _it_? _Uuugh... _damn it_! I'm going to kill him when I find him!" Roxanne ranted out loud to her empty cubicle in frustration as she rummaged through the stack of files on her desk. She could feel a sense of panic rising up in her stomach; that file contained important information that she had collected for her current story, and it had now suddenly and infuriatingly gone missing at the hands of someone she should have known better than to trust.

Earlier that morning, she had been perusing the contents of the file and poring over the tidbits she had been collecting on the sly over the past year during her kidnappings while Megamind worked on the final preparations for his plans, conversing back and forth with his sidekick and assuming she was still unconscious. He had _no_ idea that over the years of frequent abductions, she had built up a bit of a resistance to the knock out spray they used regularly and would find herself waking up long before they were ready to commence unleashing terror on the city.

Rather than drawing attention to the fact that she was awake, she had immediately seen the situation for what it was; an opportunity to snatch up information on the villain and capture never before seen shots of the "mad" genius at work. Being forced to participate in every one of his numerous evil schemes, she began to amass quite a collection of the behind the scenes goings on at the Evil Lair. Thanks to the surprisingly gentle way her wrists were bound behind her by her abductors, she found it easy to slip her hands from their bindings and sneakily snap a covert picture here, capture a snippet of recorded conversation there, and then quickly slide them back into place without Megamind or Minion being the wiser.

Without breathing a word to a soul about her master plan, she had collected the information and stashed it away in a file that she had hidden safely in her apartment. She wasn't taking _any _chances and even refused to upload any of the secrets she had stolen away from the blue devil to her computer... she knew for a fact that he hacked into her system regularly to keep tabs on her and didn't want him to have even the most remote inkling of what she was up to.

Finally, after a year of squirreling away pictures and documenting bits and pieces of Megamind's routine that he kept carefully hidden from the public eye, she felt that she had enough information on the infamous villain to do the story of a lifetime. She was ready to paint a picture of the private life of the elusive alien for the residents of Metro City that was based on fact rather than the ridiculous speculation of some of the "experts" out there. It would be the story that would define her career and, she hoped, open the eyes of the people of the city she loved to something that she had known for years; Megamind wasn't as bad as he tried to lead everyone to believe.

With a feeling of triumph, she had carefully packed the thick file in her bag and snuck it in to work with her, finally ready to begin the process of uploading her information and whipping her story into written form to submit to her boss for final approval before the taping could begin. She had clued him in earlier that week that she had a big story coming, one that would draw every eye in town to channel 8 for a chance to watch, but despite his pressing she had refused to give him any more information.

As she watched the portly man sit at his desk, sweating and rubbing his hands in excitement with a greedy grin plastered to his pudgy face at the prospect of upping the station's ratings, she hadn't known whether to snicker or to shake her head in embarrassment at his antics. Either way, the cat was out of the bag and he _wanted_ that story; there was no going back now. The only thing to do was get it completed and into her boss' grasping hands as quickly as possible.

With that thought in mind, Roxanne had arrived early the next morning to begin her preparation and settled in immediately to her task, making quick headway thanks not only to having done most of the work at home, but also to the fastidious way she had organized the information. She was bound and determined to get this thing wrapped up that day and ready for taping as soon as possible to eliminate any chance of her captor finding out what she had planned. And now that she had taken it to work and gotten the ball officially rolling on her project, she had_ no _doubt he would find out... it was only a matter of time._ Pffft! And he calls ME nosy..._

As she sat at her desk and worked feverishly at her pet project, lost in the task she had set for herself, she was suddenly and frustratingly interrupted by a voice she had thankfully been able to avoid up to that point in the morning.

"Oh hey Roxaroo, there you are! What's goin' on? You've been, like, AWOL all morning! I didn't even see you at the coffee stand on the way to work. I showed up right at your usual time so we could, you know, spend a little_ time _together before we got all started with the day and everything."

Without turning around, Roxanne stopped and closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and steadying her nerves before she engaged herself in conversation with her creepy and socially awkward cameraman. Even on her best days she had a hard time putting up with his immature conversation and blatant come-ons, but this morning was one that required focus... she was racing against the clock to beat her adversary to the punch and get this story written, shot, and aired before he could interfere.

She toyed for a moment with the idea of simply ignoring him in the hope that he would get the point and move along, possibly go find someone else to bother, but this was _Hal_ she was talking about. Hal didn't get the point of much of anything; if she tried that tactic he would stand at her cubicle door and pester her for as long as it took for her to turn around and give him the attention he craved. Besides, as much as she would love to give him the cold shoulder until he tottered along somewhere else, her conscience would bother her for the rest of the day if she tried. He was so incredibly _annoying_, but she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

Turning toward him with a forced but friendly smile, she said, "Yeah Hal, sorry about that. I got here early this morning so I could wrap up something I've been working on. Actually, if I can manage to get some time to really focus on it... without distraction... " she hinted, "I should have this ready to shoot tomorrow. It's kind of a rush, Greg wants it ready to air ASAP."

"Oh,_ wow_! Well hey, don't let me hold you up." he responded, surprising the reporter with his ready acceptance to her hinted request for some time to herself.

_Geez, that was too easy. _

"Thanks Hal." she said, and immediately turned back to delve into her work again. If she could just show him that she was immensely involved in what she was doing, he might just go away without trying to continue the conversation. His lack of arguing with her comment that she was busy and needed to stay on task was promising...

"You know, you shoulda just told me you wanted to get here early this morning. I could have swung by and picked you up in the van, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Anyway, I'm not diggin' the idea of you out there by yourself so early with no one to, you know, kinda keep their eye on you. I mean, seriously! What if Megamind decided to snag you? Then what?"

_Ooooh, I spoke too soon. And what would you be able to do about it if he did, Butterball? _"Ah, well then I guess I'd just have to do the same thing I always do. I'd drive him nuts with my sarcasm and acerbic comebacks until he wished he'd left me right where he found me, and wait until Metro Man shows up to drag him off to prison again. Now, do you mind? No offense, but I'm really busy here, Hal."

Hal looked incredibly crestfallen at the abrupt way he had just been verbally ushered from her work space, but he was nothing if not persistent. He had one more trick up his sleeve to try and smuggle a little more time with the gorgeous reporter and he was determined to milk it for everything he could get out of it.

"Oh yeah, sorry Roxy. I'll get outta here and let you get to whatever you're doing." he said dejectedly as he turned toward the door of the cubicle. Then, as if he had been hit by a sudden brainstorm, he swung around and said, "But hey, just one more thing, if you're gonna be ready to shoot this tomorrow it might be a good idea for me to take a look at it, sorta like, get familiar with it so I can be on the ball tomorrow when you're ready to go... since I am your cameraman and everything. But ya know, whatever, it's cool. I was just kinda throwin' it out there... it's _totally_ up to you. Okay, see ya later Rox... "

Roxanne could feel the irritation burning in her chest like a hot coal at the way he was trying to manipulate her into spending more time with him, but he did have a legitimate point. It would be to her benefit in the end if he had an idea in advance about what the story would entail and how she wanted it filmed. This was going to be the expose' of the century and she wanted to make sure it was not only done quickly, but done right the first time with no mistakes. But... that would mean spending time with her annoying co-worker who didn't seem to know how to keep his mouth shut; there was no _way_ she was going to let that file leave her cubicle.

"Wait a minute." she said with a sigh as she held out the file. "Here, go ahead and get a look at it, but I really need you to be quick and then let me get back to work. I just can't concentrate when you're in here. I need to be alone so I can focus! And whatever you do, do NOT breathe a word of this to anyone! Got it?"

"Whoa, _sweet_! Thanks Rox, you're _totally_ not going to regret this!"

"_HAL! _Did you hear anything I just said? Do not share this with_ anyone_! If word gets out about this Megamind will show up and ruin a whole year's worth of work, and I will _NOT_ be happy about it, capisce?"

"Oh yeah... no, I _completely_ get you. My lips are sealed, I swear I'm not breathing a word about it to anyone; it's just between us. You know, kinda like, our little _secret_?" he responded in a salacious tone as he leaned in close and looked at her with a dopey smile, his amber eyes lidded suggestively.

Roxanne looked at him a moment longer, her eyes widening in astonishment at his clumsy attempt at charm and his lack of decorum. After another moment of speechlessly staring at her cameraman, she finally turned back to her computer without saying a word, deciding that maybe her conscience wouldn't bother her that much if she ignored him after all.

She began once again plugging information into her computer and trying to tune out the aggravating sound of the pages turning behind her, and of his occasional exclamations of surprise at the photos or the snippets of notes he perused... "Whoa! Look at that big-headed freak!"... "Ha, oh MAN! I don't know how you can sit there so close to him and not freakin' gag!"... "Dude! Haha, what a _loser_!"

As minute after minute ticked by and began to stretch on into the morning, Roxanne was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her composure while she stared at her monitor and listened to the sloppy redhead continue to rudely prattle on about her captor. Despite the fact that Megamind was notorious for being the bad guy and seemed to have made it part of his life's work to annoy her as much as possible, it absolutely rubbed her the wrong way to hear Hal going on about him in such a demeaning way.

Just when she was beginning to feel herself lose control over her temper and was about to tell him to shut up, he nonchalantly mentioned as if it were an unimportant afterthought, "Oh yeah, by the way... Greg was looking for you. He said it was like, I don't know, really important or something. I was supposed to send you in to see him as soon as I saw you."

"Hal! That was almost an hour ago!" She snapped as she stood up and immediately headed for the door. She knew how her boss rolled; he didn't like to be kept waiting and was probably becoming more agitated with each minute that passed. Along with that agitation came an extreme tendency to be cantankerous; he was more likely than not about to get up and come looking for her himself at that point, and that was never a good sign for how the rest of the day was going to turn out. Top reporter or not, Roxanne was subject to the same treatment from her boss as were the rest of her colleagues.

"Hey look, sorry... "

"Listen, I've got to go _right now_. When you're done looking at that just put it in my desk drawer. Do _not_ take it out of my cubicle, okay?"

"You got it Rox! No problemo, I'll... "

"Thanks Hal!" she interrupted impatiently, and then without staying to listen to the rest of his speech she quickly turned and made her way to her boss' office, who was, as she expected, none too happy with the fact that he had been kept waiting.

After a thorough lecture about being prompt and the importance of keeping on your toes in a news office, he began to grill her about the progress of her story. Roxanne patiently explained that things were progressing nicely, but her time would be much more efficiently spent if she could just get back to her desk and finish the tedious task of uploading info and completing the script for final approval. She assured him repeatedly that if left alone, she would have her story ready to tape tomorrow.

After an hour's worth of explaining and re-explaining that she _needed_ to get back to work in order to get her story ready to go, her boss was finally satisfied and sent her on her way.

Hurrying down the hall as quickly as she could she made it back to her cubicle, ready to pick up right where she left off and finish the story she had poured herself into and carefully planned out for a whole year. Arriving at her work space, she tentatively stopped at the door and peeked around the partition, hoping to find the extra chair vacated and her pudgy colleague gone. Oh thank God! Hal was no where in sight.

With a sigh of relief, she sat down at her desk with a giddy sense of anticipation and reached for her drawer to whip out the file... but upon pulling it open and looking inside, she found nothing; just an empty space littered with pieces of scrap paper and a few stray pens that rolled and clattered along the metal bottom.

"No... " Her heart instantly dropped to her toes and her hands unconsciously snapped up to stifle a horrified gasp. "Oh God, no. Where is it?"

And then she knew... all that work, a year's worth of sneaking around and being bored out of her mind while she pretended to be unconscious so she could spy on her serial kidnapper, gone in a flash because she had been naïve enough to trust her dimwitted cameraman to put it away where it belonged rather than wander off with it.

As these thoughts crept through her brain she could feel her blood beginning to boil. Her eyes narrowed venomously as she stared at the empty drawer, her hands dropped to her lap and her fists balled up tightly. Through clenched teeth, she hissed one single syllable,_ "Hal..."_

What ensued next was a wild search through her work space. The frantic reporter rifled through every drawer in her desk as well as her filing cabinets in the hope that he had simply placed it in the wrong one, but was immediately disappointed. She searched her shelves and the stack of old files on her desk multiple times. She checked her in/out going mail tray and peeked behind her desk, just in case it had somehow managed to slip through the crack and fallen down into that tiny, dark space. She even rummaged through her trash can in a last-ditch effort to find the precious file, all to no avail. It was simply gone.

By this time, her heart was racing as though she had been running a marathon. All she could think about was the time ticking quickly by and how with each passing minute that was lost without her being able to finish her story, it became more and more likely that Megamind would show up to ruin all her plans. She had become so angry at Hal for misplacing all her hard work and wasting her time, she didn't even think that her conscience _or _her typically soft heart would be able to save him from the bitching of a lifetime.

She sat down in her chair and forced herself to take calming breaths; getting worked up like that wasn't going to help her situation at all and was simply _not_ conducive to thinking clearly. What she needed to do was to try to think like Hal. She needed to get inside his head, as repulsive as that proposition was; to try and figure out where he was _right now _and what the hell he might have done with her file before it was too late.

_Let's see, it's about 10:30... if I were Hal where would I be?_

The answer was simple, there were only two places he could be... in the copy room wasting time watching all the young and pretty interns do the tedious tasks they had been set to, or in the break room wasting time drinking coffee and doing absolutely nothing.

With that, she slapped her hand loudly with determination on the top of her desk, stood up in an instant, and took off like a shot down the hall to try and find her half-witted co-worker and get her file back... and give him more than a piece of her mind while she was at it.

Muttering to herself angrily along the way and garnering several nervous glances from colleagues as she passed by, she arrived at the copy room first. Stepping through the door, she was very disappointed and incredibly irritated to find it empty, not a soul in sight.

Briefly scanning the room before she turned around to charge like a raging bull down the hall to the lounge, she noticed a tall stack of file folders sitting on the counter next to the copy machine. In fact, not just a single stack of folders but a whole fleet of them, all piled up and covering the entire length of the counter top. It appeared that someone was in the process of purging the storage room of old files and had decided to place them here until they could find the time to complete their task.

Every one of those folders looked just like hers, and she wouldn't put it past Hal to set it down on one of the stacks and walk away, forgetting he had even taken it with him from her cubicle to begin with.

Just to be on the safe side, she crossed the room with a frustrated huff and began to leaf through the piles of information, hoping that for Hal's sake she would find it quickly and be able to get back to work and forget about this whole mess. The way she was feeling right now, the only thing that would save him from a severely bloody nose would be if Metro Man showed up to intervene on the pathetic man's behalf.

As she pored through every folder in search of her quarry, she suddenly heard approaching behind her heavy, lumbering footsteps.

"Hey Rox, there you are! I've been like, looking all over for you! What are you _doing_ here? I figured you'd be... "

At the sound of the infuriating voice, she swung on her cameraman and snapped, "Where is it? I told you not to take it out of my cubicle! That was the last thing I said to you before I left."

"Oh, wow... what's got you so bent? I mean, what are you even _talking_ about?"

"My file, Hal! I need it... now! That thing is filled with important information that took me a very long time and a lot of hard work and sneaking around to collect!"

"W_hoooa!_ Okay Roxy... just hold on. Give me a second to tell you what's... "

"No! I _don't _want to hear it and I don't want to hold on! I just want my goddamn file, now!"

Instead of pandering to her wishes and scrambling to produce the called upon file in a panic as she had expected, the plump cameraman began to chuckle. His expression began to shift from his typical blank-eyed, doltish, the-lights-are-on-but-no-one's-home stare to an amused and rather smug grin.

"Oh... tut, tut,_ tut _my feisty little journalist. Such language coming from Metrocity's beloved 'girl next door' is_ shocking!_"

Roxanne's mouth hung slightly open as she stared in astonishment and confusion at her co-worker. He looked like Hal, and his voice certainly _sounded_ like Hal's, but the words that were suddenly coming out of his mouth were all wrong. She looked at him carefully, squinting her eyes as she scrutinized the slovenly, redheaded marshmallow standing before her... now that she was getting a closer look, something didn't seem quite right. Something about the eyes...

"Hal?"

"Au contraire my sassy siren; you're _much_ to sharp to let yourself be deceived so easily."

As Roxanne continued to look on in puzzlement, trying to put her finger on exactly what was happening, Hal reached up to fidget with the watch at his wrist... a watch she had never noticed before. _Ooooh, wait a minute... _

Before her eyes, the visage of her dumpy colleague shimmered, and with a blinding flash of blue light changed into another form entirely.

"Megamind!"

"Yes... " he responded with a low, silky voice and a scheming chuckle as he looked at her through his lowered brows, one corner of his mouth drawn up in a self-satisfied smirk . "The one and only."

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**Okay, chapter 2 will be uploaded within the week. Please don't forget to look for it! Thank you so much for reading, and if you feel so inclined, I would love to hear from you. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**YAY! On we go with the story! The fun and games are about to begin and, Oh! Is it starting to get a little steamy in here? Why yes, I do believe it is!**

**Just so ya know, this story doesn't include smut, just a bit of steamy fun, so it still gets to keep its T rating. **

**Thanks for coming back to see what Megs has up his sleeve! Have fun, y'all!**

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"You know, you should win an Oscar for that performance. How long have you been here, anyway?" Roxanne asked, trying to disguise the mounting panic in her voice. She hoped to God that wasn't_ him _that she had unwittingly handed the file to in her cubicle earlier that morning.

"I've only just arrived, why do you ask? Is it _possible_ that you missed me so much since our last meeting?"

With a roll of her blue eyes and an irritated huff, she responded, "Ugh, please! You know, I_ really _don't have time for this today, Megamind. I'm in the middle of something important, and I really need to... "

"Yes, so I heard." he interrupted, the corner of his lip twitching with the humor he obviously found in the situation. He watched her for a moment as she gazed at him and tried to look as nonchalant as she possibly could, and then continued on as though he hadn't heard her objection to participating in another one of his impending plans, "Oh my _goodness_ Miss Ritchi, it seems as though I've slipped through your nosy reporter defenses this time. Hmmm, you know I'm _really_ relishing the way that feels... in fact, I'm taking a mental picture of that shocked expression on your pretty face right now. This is certainly a moment I'm going to want to revisit again... and again."

As he crooned out those final two words, he reached out with his heavily booted foot and smoothly kicked the door shut, his eyes never leaving Roxanne's for a moment. The second the door slid home in its frame and the latch clicked audibly, he whipped out his de-gun and swung around in a flash. In one swift movement he adjusted the setting on the incredible weapon and fired, a bright beam of energy hitting the lock and melting it in place so they wouldn't be disturbed.

She swallowed as she watched his lithe movements, and could feel her pulse quicken as he turned to her once again and holstered his gun. Then with a sleek gait he began to sidle across the room as he pulled off his long gloves, those strikingly green eyes boring into hers and twinkling with unconcealed amusement. It irritated her that he could so easily make her heart palpitate with a single look, or make her knees weak with the dulcet tones of his voice as he did his best to verbally rattle her cage in the midst of one of their unusual interludes.

As he approached, he stopped a couple of feet away from her and reached out his hand, taking her by the wrist and drawing her in close, finding no resistance from his quarry. They stood like this for a moment, mere inches apart with their only actual contact being his hand wrapped softly around her wrist as he drew it in close to his chest. His lidded emerald eyes searched her sapphire ones and were lost in the fascination of being in such close proximity to someone he had no business being so close to to begin with... and reveling in the excitement of enjoying it so much.

"You _do_ know how I feel about you, don't you?" he asked as he took in every detail of her face; the sweep of her eyelashes, her slender nose, the dimple on her cheek.

Roxanne was beginning to feel a bit woozy as he searched her gaze. The one and only word the typically eloquent reporter could come up with in answer to his question was a whispered, "Yes... "

His smile softened when he heard her answer, and he continued, "_Damn_ that empty headed goody-goody Metro Mahn, you're far too precious; too intelligent for a boorish beefcake like him! A flower can't blossom if it's starved of the sun, Roxanne... I have _so_ much more to offer you than that ridiculous buffoon ever could. And look at you; you won't even pull away from me... I _know_ deep down you feel the same way about me as I do about you."

She lowered her lids and gazed through her lashes at her captor, and then unconsciously tipped her head up toward him and leaned closer, but still managed to find some of her spunky resistance lingering under the magnetic lure he always seemed to have on her. "That's quite an oppinion you have of yourself there, handsome. But did you happen to remember along with all that self-congratulaion that you're a _villain_? I can't be with a villain, Megamind."

"Ah yes, there is that. But you know what I think? I think you _like _it when I'm a scoundrel. I think you find the idea of being with the most dangerous man in Metrocity _exciting_." he said as he trailed a long, slender finger along her jawline and down the length of her neck to the peachy skin exposed by the open vee of her blouse, his eyes traveling along with the movement of the digit.

The way he purred at her so seductively mixed with the feeling of his finger running so softly against her skin was beginning to send tingles to every extremity, and a hot wave was beginning to spread and wash over her from some very exciting areas of her body. Without caring in the slightest that what she was doing might not be the most appropriate response to the romantic attentions of a super villain, she closed her eyes and leaned in closer to him, resting her head against his. She breathed slowly in and out, trying to keep her wits about her in the face of this attraction that was so wrong, but so impossible to ignore.

Running his cheek tenderly along hers, he said quietly, "Why don't you kiss me Roxanne, I know you want to. We both want this."

As much as she longed to do exactly what he proposed, she just barely managed to respond, "I can't. You're the bad guy, that's all there is to it." But pulling back so she could look at him clearly, she added with a mischievously crooked and hopeful smile, "You know, if you _really_ want that kiss, you're going to have to steal it from me."

His eyes widened with surprise for a moment, and then he chuckled. "Well you've come to the right man for that; grand theft_ is _one of my specialties... but I'm afraid that as much as I want to, that's the one thing I won't steal."

Despite the fact that she was finding it hard to breathe as he gazed at her like that and her disappointment at his answer made her heart drop the instant it left his lips, she was as stubborn as she was smart. She was_ not _about to let on so easily to her serial kidnapper that he was capable of affecting her like that... at least no more than she already had.

She decided that the best method she could use to divert the course of this conversation was distraction.

Taking a step back from him but allowing him to continue to keep his gentle hold on her, she set her jaw stubbornly and said as she picked up his free hand and nodded toward his wrist, "It's that watch you know; that's the reason you were able to slip past my 'nosy reporter defenses'. I_ hate _that thing! That's the only one of your_ genius _creations that actually trips me up, and even then it only works when I'm already really distracted or worked up about something."

Megamind had expected her to dodge the subject of the way their strange relationship had naturally begun to deepen despite all the odds that were stacked against them. Despite their obvious attraction to one another, she continued to fight against it tooth and nail and he found her efforts_ irrestably _endearing. But rather than continuing to push the envelope, he decided to play along.

He switched back into villain-mode a trifle and laughed, a laugh that was only _slightly_ evil and born more out of his amusement at his victim's adorable belligerence, and said, "Touche'. I'll give you that much; it hasn't worked on you _every_ time, but often enough and you know it! And now, since you've decided to change the topic of conversation, that brings us to another matter... what's all this I hear about a file? It's obvious that this all-important file is the object of your distraction today."

The instant she heard him mention the word file, her mind switched back to the reason for her frantic search that had taken up such an important portion of her morning. God, could his timing have been any more terrible? He just _had_ to show up to kidnap her right at the exact moment she was so mad at Hal she had lost all control over her mouth, and walked in just in time to hear her beginning to rage about the very file that she had been trying to keep hidden from him. It was going to take some smooth talking to get herself out of this one, but she could handle it. _No one _could handle Megamind the way she could.

"Nothing!" she said as she slid her wrist free from his grasp and dismissively waved her hand. "It's just another one of those boring assignments I'm running behind on because _someone _is always pulling me away to 'assist' him in his schemes and it ends up not leaving me enough time to get my work done. My boss is getting tired of me going over my deadlines, so he wants this one finished by tomorrow."

"Ah, I see... " he answered, but he didn't look convinced. His smirk deepened and one eyebrow began to arch up mischievously. "So that's it, you're feeling rushed because you have a difficult time being _poonk-tual _and your boss is giving you a hard time about it?"

"No, I don't have a hard time being_ punc-tu-al," _she enunciated, "the only reason I ever run late is because of you. And yes, he's giving me a hard time about it so I need to get my work done today, it's as simple as that. Now, can you go away and let me get back to work please?"

"So, it has absolutely nothing to do with a very _interesting_ file that happens to be absolutely packed with the most fascinating photos and bits of information about yours truly?" he asked, his velvety voice flowing as smoothly as melted butter.

Roxanne's breath caught in her throat and her eyes opened wide . He knew? How could he possibly have found out already? She'd taken every precaution imaginable over the past year to keep it from him and she couldn't see how he could have gotten wind of it so quickly that morning upon her arrival with it to work. She hadn't told anyone about it but Hal; not even her boss knew what her story was about. Given enough time she had no doubt that Hal would do a bang-up job of making it the talk of the town, but even he couldn't mess things up to the point of attracting Megamind's attention that quickly.

She had known the blue troublemaker would find out about it and happen along to fetch the file soon enough, but this was shocking. She had been certain she'd have more time than this to get her work finished before he showed up, unless...

Looking at him suspiciously, she asked, "How long did you say you've been here?"

"Like I said before, I've only just arrived." he responded, his crooked smirk twitching with humor.

"And what exactly does 'only just arrived' equate to in terms of actual time passed? A couple of hours ago? A few minutes? What?"

Megamind sighed in faux exasperation and said with an exaggerated roll of his green eyes, "Miss Ritchi, have I ever told you that you're the nosiest reporter I know?"

"Frequently. How long, Megamind?"

"Ugh, fine. I've been here exactly eight minutes and twenty one seconds. I believe when I arrived, you were in the midst of wrapping up your meeting with your boss."

Roxanne's brows creased with frustration as her eyes strayed toward the stack of bursting yellow file folders on the counter. If he was telling the truth, and judging by the straightforward look in his eyes she was pretty certain he was, that wasn't him in her office disguised as Hal that she handed the file to that morning.

For the life of her she couldn't figure out how he could have possibly discovered her secret. There's no way he could have pried it out of her pudgy cameraman. She knew Hal well enough to understand that although he talked a good game, if he had actually been confronted and questioned by the villain face to face, he would have instantly turned into a blubbering mess incapable of coherent speech.

Knowing Megamind as well as she did, in a situation like that it would have taken him mere seconds to grow so impatient with the pathetic man that he would stop the whimpering by reducing him to a tiny blue cube. Her curiosity was beginning to get the better of her; she wanted to know exactly how he caught wind of that file, and she wanted to know now.

Not caring that she was about to admit to her secret, she threw her hands in the air with a final frustrated huff and said, "God, this is going to make me crazy if I don't find out! If that wasn't you in my cubicle this morning pulling one over on me with that stupid watch, how do you know about the file? _No one _knows about that file!"

He chuckled and said, "Oh dear, we wouldn't want that now, would we? I can't have anything happening to the only mind capable of stimulating my incredible genius in this intellectual wasteland."

He paused for effect and had to use every available ounce of self control to prevent himself from bursting into a fit of laughter at the adorably frustrated glare she was casting his way._ Oh, she's so cute!_

"Your cameraman had an unfortunate run-in with my forget-me-stick when I was on my way to your cubicle to pay you a visit. He was carrying a file at the time of the 'accident', and it fell and spilled all over the floor. What a mess... that really was_ very _clumsy of him! A few of the pictures that had been inside caught my attention when I was in the process of assisting the poor man. Not bad by the way, you have quite an eye for photography."

She knew she should have been livid that Megamind had introduced her cameraman to the forget-me-stick, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement when she pictured the scenario in her head. Besides, she was still mad that he had taken her file out of her cubicle just as she had asked him not to do. He kind of deserved it.

"So where is he now?" she asked, making her best attempt to appear concerned rather than amused.

"He's resting comfortably in the closet across the hall from your cubicle."

Roxanne had to bite back a giggle; that broom closet was so small, Megamind would have had quite a time trying to figure out a way to stuff her big, dumpy co-worker into it and still be able to shut the door. The image of her short and slender blue captor cramming that sloppy oaf into the tiny space was enough to send her into fits.

The last thing she wanted to do was feed into his villainy by laughing at the tale of his attack on her colleague, so she cleared her throat and asked in the most serious tone she could muster, "Okay then, as long as he's all right. Now... where's my file, Megamind. You have it, don't you?"

"Why _yes_, as a matter of fact I do. I thought it would make for some fascinating reading, it _is_all about my favorite subject after all."

"Give it back!"

He put a long blue index finger to his chin, and looking thoughtfully into the air as though considering her demand, he replied, "Ummmm, no. I don't think so, I'd rather hang on to it. By the way, how _did_ you get all that information? And those pictures? I must admit I'm _very _impressed... and rather curious."

"Wouldn't you like to know! Listen Megamind, I really want that file. Can't you cut me a break? I mean, come_ on_! Look at all the plans I've had to suffer through for you; why can't you just work with me a little this time? _Please?"_

Megamind's mischievous smile softened at her request. How could he deny his Miss Ritchi anything when she used the word please?

"Well Roxanne, since you asked so nicely, I may be able to work with you on this. Let it _never_ be said that I'm above concern for my favorite captive!"

Roxanne's eyes lit up at his response. She could scarcely believe her ears... was he really going to just give it to her?

"But... " he continued, "don't imagine for a moment that I'm going to just _give_ it to you. I _am_ in the business of e-vil. You don't really expect me to make it that easy for you, do you?"

She should have known. All the frustrated reporter could do was stand in place, staring with resignation at her adversary. Finally, with a sigh and a shake of her head she said, "Okay then, what do you want me to do? Should I go through another round of the 'Hamm-Her'? Or the 'Pinata Del Beeez', or something else along that line?"

"Oh, E-vil Heavens no! This is an arrangement between the two of us; I have no desire to bring that brutish boyfriend of yours into it. I think we can handle it perfectly well on our own. Now, you know I love a good game, I was thinking more along the line of a challenge; a battle of wits, shall we say."

Roxanne tilted her head and gave him a sidelong glance, her eyes squinted in confusion, and then repeated with more than a hint of sarcasm, "Battle of wits... what is this, some sort of weird,_ e-vil _game show?"

"Oh-hohohoho! Very funny! Miss Ritchi, you have no idea how lucky you are to be considered my favorite captive... I _guarantee_ no one else would be able to get away with those sarcastic, mouthy comebacks the way you do." he said warningly, but the gleam in his eyes and his crooked grin betrayed the fact that he found her sassy banter adorable.

He paused and watched her gaze back at him, completely unfazed by his warning, and then continued, "Not a_ ridiculous _game show... I was thinking more along the lines of a simple guessing game. And because I'm doing this for you, I'll even let you be the one to pick the question. Ask me anything you want; I get three guesses and if I get it wrong, you get the file, no questions asked. And no matter _what_ it is you plan to do with it, I give you my word I won't interfere," he said with a knowing smile. "But remember who you're dealing with. Although you're incredibly bright and you seem to be pretty good at figuring me out most of the time, I _am_ a super genius. Just to give yourself a sporting chance, make sure you pick a question you're certain I couldn't possibly have the answer to."

"And if you _do_ guess?"

"I keep the file and we get on with the kidnapping. Like I said; simple. You can handle that, right?"

Her expression shifted from confused to doubtful as she gazed at him with creased brows. Should she do it? In her experience there was often a trick of some kind wrapped up in these little "offers" of his and she usually ended up regretting that she had played along. But it didn't seem that she had any other choice, if she wanted any possibility of getting back the file that was packed with a year's worth of hard work and planning, she would just have to go along with it.

Besides, if she was the one to pick the question she would have the advantage, right? And even if he ended up keeping it, she had copies of most of the information in a back up file stashed away at home. The information was in a bit of disarray; she had stuffed the copies inside in a hurry when she added to her collection rather than taking the time to organize the way she had with the copy Megamind held hostage. It would be a major setback to be sure, but at least the majority of her information was safely tucked away if she needed it.

Coming to a decision, she said, "Okay, I'll do it. Just give me a second to think of a question..."

"Now hold on, I have one more thing to add to the list if I happen to win this little game."

"No, you can't do that! We've already made a deal!"

"Miss Ritchi, I'm e-vil. I can do whatever I want." he purred, his voice low and supple.

Roxanne could feel a tingle begin to shimmer it's way through her chest at his answer. _How does he do that?_

Forcing herself to focus on her frustration instead of the way he could turn her on like a light switch with that voice of his, she snapped, "_Gah_, fine! What is it?"

"A kiss."

The shocked reporter's eyes couldn't have shot open any wider if a police siren happened to find its way into her bedroom in the middle of the night to wake her from a deep sleep, and her mouth dropped open as she tried to decide if she had just heard him right. With a disbelieving tone in her voice she asked, "A kiss?"

"Yes... the kiss you won't give me and I won't take from you without you giving it freely. If I win, I get one... single... kiss."

Roxanne's mind was immediately sent on a confusing round of mixed emotions. The modern, independent woman in her was appalled that he would even have the nerve to _think_ about bartering for a kiss; that was a cheap, sexist thing to do. On the other hand, the vulnerable, sensitive woman in her was drawn to the idea, especially when she thought about what he'd just said, "... won't take from you without you giving it freely".

She had wanted to kiss him more times than she could even count and caught herself fantasizing about it frequently when she was able to snatch a free moment to herself... maybe this wouldn't be a bad thing after all? In fact, the more she thought about it, the more it was beginning to sound like an incredibly_ good _idea.

She was feeling very confident that the question she had decided to ask was perfectly designed to trip him up; he had as much as admitted just a short while ago that he had no clue what the answer was. And if he somehow managed to get it right... well, at least she'd get her consolation prize; something she had wanted for a very long time but just couldn't have.

"All right, _one_ kiss. But that's it! And if you can't guess the answer I get my file _and_ the rest of the week off from kidnappings."

"Wait a minute... "

"If you can add addendums to the conditions after the deal is made, so can I."

He looked at her with a scrutinizing expression for a few moments, and then said, "You drive a very shrewd bargain my dear. Fine... you get the file _and_ the rest of the week off. It's a deal. Now, are you ready? What's your question? Ask away!"

Roxanne just looked at him for a moment, her face softened by a gentle smile as she shook her head at his eagerness. He was just a few feet from her, watching her with a wildly excited grin, his front teeth biting down on his lower lip with anticipation, and_ so _anxious to get started with their challenge he could barely stand still. He really did love his little games and his hilariously competitive spirit, although very inconvenient for her when she was sucked into his plans, was immensely entertaining. She had secretly snickered at his manic and excited smile so often over the years she'd lost count.

Being an ambitious sort of girl herself, she was easily swept up in the spirit of the game when his competitive attentions focused on her rather than Metro Man. This time was no exception. In fact, the more she thought about this situation, the more enthusiastic and confident she became. This was going to be fun! She could hardly wait to see that smug grin wiped off his handsome blue mug when she beat him at his own game.

"All right then. My question is... how did I get all the information and photos that you saw in the file? _How_ did I manage to steal so many of your secrets?"

Megamind's confident, complacent grin suddenly fell and was replaced by a hesitant, slightly worried scowl. He stood watching her uncomfortably for a moment, suddenly becoming uncharacteristically quiet as he fidgited his tented fingers nervously.

"Roxanne," he piped up with a mildly nervous tenor to his voice, "Isn't there another question you'd rather ask? I mean, I_ was _expecting something a little more challenging."

"Nope."

He looked immensely disappointed at her answer. Metro City's most fearsome villain looked away with a frustrated grimace, glaring at the floor and crossing his arms like a temperamental child. He held his pout for only a short time however. Recovering with a sense of determination, he looked up at her thoughtfully and said, "Your cameraman, Hal Shtoowatt! You had him follow along somehow during your kidnappings and find a strategic location to take covert pictures of the goings on. Is that it?"

Roxanne's smile grew wider, beginning to shift itself into more of a self-confident smirk, and she said, "No, wrong answer. That's one guess down."

"Ugh!" he huffed, and spun around to pace the floor of the cramped copy room, his eyes narrowed in concentration and his cape trailing fluidly behind him. He looked as though he might pop a blood vessel in that enormous brain of his if he focused his intellectual machinations any harder on the puzzle set before him.

Roxanne was getting such a kick out of his dramatic antics, she was having a hard time successfully stifling her laughter. Despite her best effort, an occasional snorting burst would escape, drawing a withering glance from her captor. After observing his fierce attention to his mental task for what felt like several minutes, she couldn't stop herself from asking with a smug hint to her voice, "Having a little trouble?"

"No! Everything is fine! I just... wouldn't want you to be disappointed if I answered your question too quickly. I _do_ want you to feel as though you had a sporting chance when our little game is over, after all. " He responded nervously.

The blue eyed reporter looked at him with a disbelieving sneer and said, "Uh-huh. Well go ahead, disappoint me. This is taking _way_ too long and I _really_ need to get my file so I can get back to work."

"Oh, you're rather sure of yourself today, aren't you?"

"Yep! Now, what's your next guess? You're out of time... you_ know _you can't just pace around here all day pretending to be thinking when you really have no idea what the answer is. Just throw out a guess and let's get this over with!"

"Fine!" he snapped. "You... managed to get hold of one of my brainbots and retrain it to spy on me in my own lair; to slip in unnoticed among the other bots and snap pictures and record information secretly so no one would be the wiser."

"Aahahahahaahaa!" Roxanne burst out in a fit of laughter that had her grasping at the edge of the counter for support while he glowered at her darkly through his lowered brows, his lower lip protruding in a pout.

"Megamind, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! You're just grasping at straws now; you have_ no _idea what the answer is. Why don't you just admit it?"

"No, I still get one more guess!" he grumbled. The longer this game went on, the more he was beginning to sound like a spoiled child who refused to admit defeat in his favorite board game.

"All right, go ahead and throw out your last guess so we can get on with this. I have a lot of things I need to get done today." she responded with a chuckle as she wiped her eyes, ready to put this situation behind her and finally have a chance to sit down and finish her project.

Megamind's doubtful eyes met hers, his face a picture of indignance at her ribbing, and a _strange_ thing began to happen...

* * *

**Oh dear, another cliffie! Well I guess that means you'll just have to come back for the final installment! Chapter 3 is all written, it just needs a bit of fine tuning. I'll have it uploaded within the week! Hope you'll be back for the conclusion!**

**Just a quick thank you to all of you who were kind enough to leave me a review for chapter 1. My incredibly busy schedule prevented me from sending out thank you responses to some of you, but please know that I appreciate every single review. They were all very lovely and and mean SO much to me. Your kind words _always_ give me the inspiration to write more! :)**

**If you feel the urge, please let me know what you think about this chapter! :) I'd LOVE to hear from you again, and I'll do my best to send out thank you responses as quickly as I can! :) Thanks you so much!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much for coming back for the final round of our unlikely couple's little game! Hope you have some steamy fun!**

* * *

That dejected, forlorn, woe-is-me pout began to change in the blink of an eye to a smile of supreme satisfaction. His vibrant green eyes flashed with manic excitement combined with the most infuriatingly self-appreciating expression she had ever seen.

"Well then, since you're in such a hurry to get on with your kidnapping, I'd be _happy_ to speed things along for you. My final guess is that you've developed a resistance to my knock out spray and over the last year have been waking up early, sneaking around taking pictures... just being nosy in general while Minion and I took care of the final preparations for our plans."

Roxanne was dumbfounded. All she could do was gape at him silently, her eyes wide and unblinking and her full lips parted in astonishment as the realization that his final guess was correct hit home.

"But, wait... but I... but I thought... " she stammered, "... You _asked_ me how I did it! You said you were curious, implying you had no idea how I pulled it off!"

"Yes, I asked; but just because I ask doesn't necessarily mean I don't know. I asked because I was curious how you'd respond when confronted about the year long infiltration of my lair at the hands of my own captive... don't think I didn't know that you were sitting there playing unconscious while I was hard at work, slipping your hands from the ropes to sneak pictures. You seem to forget I'm a genius Miss Ritchi; I find that you're constantly underestimating me. Yes, I may lose the _occasional _ battle to your brainless boyfriend but that's only because he's nigh on invincible. If it were a battle of wits, I'd be unstoppable!"

Still trying process the fact that he knew, she asked, "How long have you known what I was doing?"

"The whole time."

"The whole _time_? No! That doesn't make any sense, Megamind! Why wouldn't you have stopped me if you really knew all along?"

"Oh, I found it incredibly amusing! You have no idea how many times I've had a good chuckle at the thought of you snapping those pictures with the assumption that I was completely oblivious to what was going on. I knew an opportunity would present itself to me sooner or later to give you a hard time about it, and I was right. And now it looks like I get to keep that wonderful collection of full color photos. You know, I've never had a photo album of my own before. It was so thoughtful of you to contribute your work so I could have one. I'm going to enjoy it _immensely_!"

Roxanne just looked at him, shaking her head in astonishment at his mind boggling admission. It took her a moment to fully absorb the news before she managed to say in a shocked voice, "Wow, Megamind, I think you missed your calling; you really _do_ deserve an Oscar for that performance. I can't believe it... I had no clue that you knew what was going on!"

Despite being utterly astounded at this piece of information, the wily reporter recovered in an instant, and with narrowed eyes she poked him in the chest with a manicured index finger and said sharply, "But... the deal was you get_ this _file. Anything else I have is _off limits _so don't think you've messed up my plans, I... "

"I've already found it, my dear."

Roxanne looked at him blankly and asked, "What?"

"The back up file. I have it, too. My brainbots are experts at sniffing out lost items... they _are_ derived from dog DNA, you know. It's _uncanny_ how many similarities they have to their K-9 counterparts!"

"But... how did you know about _that_?"

"Of_ course _you'd have a back up file! You're _Roxanne Ritchi!_"

In one swift shot of disappointment, Roxanne realized that she'd been beaten. There was absolutely no chance at this point of getting back all of that hard work. She should have been furious that he had taken her file _and_ stripped her of the backup she had tucked away, but rather than focus her energy on her frustration, she decided her effort would be better spent on coming up with a way to piece together the story without it. Maybe she could even think up a way to sneak her information back... the possibilities for _re-vahnge_, as he put it, were endless. He may have won this battle, but he hadn't won the war; and she was determined that in the end the winner would be her.

With a sigh of resignation, she tossed her hands into the air and said, "Okay, you won. You get the file... now will you _please_ go away and leave me alone so I can try to explain to my boss that the big story he was expecting isn't going to happen after all?"

"Ah, ah, ah! There's a little matter of a kidnapping that we need to attend to. And if I'm not mistaken, a kiss as well." he said, finishing his response softly, a tiny smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"You_ know _I should slap you for even suggesting this." Roxanne responded flatly.

Megamind began to step closer to her, his smile growing more gentle as he gazed at her with his lidded emerald eyes. He reached out and put his arm around her waist, drawing her in near to him and said, "Perhaps, but I really don't think you're going to... are you?"

Despite the fact that this impending kiss was technically considered the "spoils" of their game, she had never felt more treasured or revered in her life than she did at that moment as he wrapped his arms around her, his eyes never leaving hers for a second. Metro City's number one reporter, the sassy, quick witted Roxanne Ritchi, had suddenly found herself without words as his penetrating gaze held hers... those emerald pools had stolen from her all capability of forming eloquent speech.

"N-no... " she stammered, her voice just barely above a whisper as he placed a hand on her cheek, stroking it tenderly with his thumb.

She began to notice a quivering develop in her knees and the room suddenly didn't seem to have quite enough air in it as she felt herself being drawn toward him, the distance between them closing as though she was being pulled by a magnet. She couldn't have backed away from him at this point even if she had wanted to; a sudden need to be close to him, to be held by him and to feel those blue lips against hers was overwhelming. Breaking their gaze, she tipped her head toward his as her eyes shifted to his mouth, and then she closed them in anticipation of their kiss.

Megamind watched as the beautiful woman he had adored from day one melted into him, and that incredible brain took in every detail of a moment he had imagined countless times. All at once he took in the feeling of her soft, feminine body against his and her intoxicating scent . He memorized every freckle that dusted her cheeks and nose, and the way her hair slipped down into her eyes to brush against her dark, sweepy lashes. But most of all he relished the way she looked at him with such longing, it took his breath away.

Their lips met, and the world suddenly seemed to stop. Roxanne felt every nerve begin to tingle as his soft, gentle mouth explored hers and his free hand slid from her cheek to slip down around her waist, tenderly bringing her even closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him in return and allowed herself to be swept away as those warm lips caressed hers slowly.

He kissed her gently at first, as though she were made of fine china, a fragile treasure to be worshipped and cherished; but as the seconds ticked by and they became more familiar and confident, a surge of long restrained passion began to sweep over them. Their kiss became more needy as his tongue slipped against hers and their exploration became deeper and more intense. He pressed his strong, soft lips against every available millimeter of skin around her mouth, and nipped and sucked tenderly at the swell of her lower lip, producing a quiet moan as she fell more completely under his spell.

The tingling which had begun to rise in her chest quickly rose to currents of electricity that flowed through her and compelled her to wrap her arms more tightly around him. She couldn't get close enough to him, and as his lips began to stray from her mouth to explore her jaw and neck with their warm, soft wetness. She was glad that he held her so tightly; her knees began to feel as weak as jelly. As though it had suddenly developed a mind of its own, one leg rose to wrap itself around his strong, slender form and was met by his hand as it slipped down her back to grasp and caress her upper thigh.

Her searching hands found their way around the high collar of his cape to the smoothness of his head just at the same moment that the long fingers of his free hand made their way into her hair, wrapping themselves in and tangling among the silky strands as though they were a lifeline.

Somewhere in the midst of this furious and increasingly passionate kiss, a tiny voice in the back of her mind began to whisper that things were going too far, that Megamind's prize had already been collected and it was time to call it quits. But as the hand that had been cradling her thigh began to slide up past her full bottom and then traveled up her side toward her breasts and the waiting buttons of her blouse, she didn't care what that tiny voice had to say. She knew what she wanted... what she wanted was _him_.

Just as things were beginning to get _very_ interesting between the infamous villain and his more-than-willing victim, and were most certainly beginning to spin out of control, a ruckus began to stir outside the copy room door that instantly put the brakes on the "prize collection" portion of their little game. A murmur of voices which had been coming from somewhere down the hall made its way to the other side of the door, and was followed by a jiggling of the knob as an unseen hand discovered that the lock had been frozen in place.

"Hey, it's_ locked_!" came a disembodied voice, "Who'd be stupid enough to lock it in the middle of business hours like this?"

"I don't know, but they'd better open it_ now_; I'm in a hurry!" responded the second voice, and an instant later a series of loud bangs rang out as the occupants of the hallway began to pound the door with their fists.

"Hello? Anyone in there? Unlock the door... I need to get in there and make some copies!" demanded the obnoxious duo as they began once again to impatiently jiggle the ruined knob.

With the deepest sense of frustration, the couple broke from their heated make-out session and looked toward the door. Roxanne watched for a moment as the knob rocked and bobbed back and forth uselessly in it's housing, and then turned to her abductor and said with an irritated roll of her eyes, "I know those guys out there; they're _not_ going to leave until they either figure out a way to get that door open or get maintenace to open it for them. I think this means it's game over, Megamind."

Megamind's brows drew together with disappointment, but wrapping his arms even tighter around her, he said, "Not necessarily. I've got the De-gun, I can buy a little more time... "

"Noooo, no, no, no, no, NO!" she said with a giggle as she ran a finger down the sleek, dark goatee that adorned his chin. "We're leaving them _out_ of this! Anyway, I think they've kind of pulled the rug out from under the mood we had going on, don't you?"

Megamind looked at her with his most seductive gaze, and wagging his eyebrows up and down he responded with a throaty growl, "I most certainly do not; all it would take is a quick hit of the De-gun, and then I can get that mood stirred back up for you in a nano-second!"

"Me-egamind... " Roxanne gasped as he attacked her neck with another round of soft, wet kisses, trying hard to ignore the tingling surge that was once again beginning to build what felt like an electrical fire that radiated through every cell in her chest and crept its way enticingly through her thighs like a smoldering flame. "...what are we supposed to do when you draw attention to yourself by dehydrating those guys and the whole office shows up and starts pounding on the door? And don't think for a second that Metro Man won't be far behind when word gets out you've got me holed up in here."

The blue villain disconnected his lips from her neck for a moment to give her a thoughtful look, and simply said, "Ohhh... "

"Yeah... not very conducive to you _claiming your prize_, is it?"

"No, perhaps not." Megamind responded, a pout beginning to form on his handsome face as he cast a glare at the door and the prize-snatchers that stood beyond it, loudly making their presence known. After a moment of indulging in a fully formed mope, his eyes brightened as he looked back at her, and he said, "You know, we _can_ resume this somewhere more quiet and secluded. The Lair would be a perfect place to pick up where we left off; Minion will be out putting the finishing touches on the... "

"Whoa! Hold on there, Cowboy! If I'm not mistaken, the deal was "One... single... kiss", remember?" Roxanne said coyly as she looked at him just seductively enough through her lashes to keep his fires burning. The pounding on the other side of the door had ushered the reporter back to reality, but she wasn't ready to let go of the idea of more fun and games with her worthy adversary in the near future. "As of now, this game is_ officially _over and you've already collected your prize. But you know, I'm not opposed to the idea of playing a second round another time... "

"Oh really? How very interesting... it appears Metrocity's favorite reporter _enjoyed_ our little game! Well, don't think for a second you have me fooled my dear; I'm quite certain I know the underlying reason for this fiercely competitive spirit you seem to have suddenly developed. Yes, I think I know _exactly_ what stakes you'll be playing for... a certain_ file _come to mind." said the blue felon with a chuckle as he gently brushed back the unruly lock of her hair that had been dislodged from its place during their kiss.

"Hmmm, yeah... but to be really honest, that's not the _only_ reason." the lovely reporter cooed in a sultry tone, and then she smilingly leaned into him one more time, nuzzling into his ear and running her tongue along its edge, finishing with a gentle suck on the lobe that had him gasping in pleasure and threatened to begin that second round right then and there.

It was at that moment that Roxanne's meddling colleagues proved themselves to be experts at butting in at the worst possible times. A new and incredibly unwelcome sound began to emanate from the hallway... the mechanical whine of an electric screwdriver as it started the process of removing the screws that held the ruined door knob in place. It appeared that after several minutes of pounding on the door with no response, the impatient men had begun a new tactic in their attempt at gaining entry to the copy room and had finally decided to go for help.

The unlikely couple looked toward the door and watched as the melted knob began to loosen at the hands of the maintenance man who had been summoned to fix the problem, and then turned back once again, looking at one another for a moment disappointedly.

Megamind shook his head in irritation as he looked at his gorgeous captive, and with narrowed eyes he said, "You're not going to like this, but I think you should know that those two have just earned themselves an important appointment with my De-gun the _second_ that door opens!"

Roxanne snorted a laugh at his proclamation of doom that was about to be visited on the annoyingly persistent occupants of the hallway, and responded, "Well actually, just between you and me, I don't really mind this time. I think you're right, they've _definitely_ earned that appointment."

Megamind snickered in surprise at her slightly evil agreement with his assessment that her co-workers would make fantastic blue cubes. _God, she couldn't be more perfect!_

As the sound of the second to the last screw dropping to the floor rang out, Roxanne reluctantly slid her arms away from his waist as she flicked her blue eyes toward the door with a frown, and taking three steps back she said with a heavy sigh, "Well, it looks like time's up, handsome... we might as well get on with the show."

Then, as though someone had flipped a switch, that mischeivously flirty glimmer began to light her eyes again, and a familiar crooked smirk began to creep across her pretty face. "All right, go ahead _scoundrel!_ Do your worst!"

Megamind chuckled wickedly as he took hold of the can of knock-out spray which he had carefully concealed on his belt, and as he rattled it in preparation for the moment of capture, he said smoothly, "Ahhhh, you see? I_ knew _you liked the scoundrel in me, Miss Ritchi!"

* * *

Hal awoke with a rip-roaring headache in a strangely cramped, darkened space with no memory of where he was or how he got there. Feeling his way around as he attempted to sit up, he discovered that he was laying in a heap on the floor in what seemed to be a closet of some kind. _What the heck, man? Where am I?_

Grasping at the closest item he could find to help pull himself up, his hands closed upon something long and narrow. In the complete darkness he had no way of knowing what it was, but it appeared to be solidly planted to the floor. Deciding it seemed safe enough, he grabbed hold of the mystery item and began his attempt to shimmy his way to his feet.

Things seemed to be going smoothly until he reached about midway up. It seemed that the item he had chosen to assist him wasn't planted as firmly to the floor as he had imagined, and in the process of entrusting all of his considerable weight to it, he knocked it loose. As a result, there came a terrible racket as a mass of heavy, oddly shaped items came cascading down from somewhere over-head and containers filled with strong smelling liquids tipped over, pouring their contents all over him.

"Oh God,_ really_? What is this stuff?" Hal whined loudly into the inky blackness of the confined space as he felt the slippery liquids trickle down his face and run down his arms to drip from his fingers.

Reaching out in front of him as he searched in vain for a door knob, he began to feel rather disoriented as his throbbing headache combined with the pungent smell that permeated the air to make it difficult for him to think clearly, something that didn't come easy for him even on a good day.

"_HEY_! Someone let me out of here! Come on, open the door!" he shouted in rising panic as he began to pound his fists at the walls, flailing about as he did so and knocking over more of the heavy items and bottles of unknown liquids, which in turn continued to pummel and douse him from above.

Just when the hysterical cameraman felt he couldn't take another second of his mad attempt to escape from the strange darkness, a door opened behind him, and a gruff voice called out, "Stewart? What do you think you're doing in there? Look at this mess!"

Hal swung around to face the glorious light that had suddenly broke its way into the darkness and to thank whoever had just saved him from a fate that was certain to be worse than death, but stopped short as he looked with horrified shock at the red, angry face of his boss.

"Ok Greg, I know this looks bad, but seriously, thanks so much for opening that door! I'm not even kidding, you have_ no _idea what I've been through."

"Just what _have_ you been through? What exactly have you been _doing_ for the past 15 minutes?"

"Oh wow... like,_ I _don't even know! It's the craziest thing, man. I seriously have no freaking clue what happened!" Hal said as he stepped out of the closet and rubbed his sore head. When his eyes adjusted to the light of the hallway, he turned around to take in the fact that the darkened room in which he had been held prisoner was in fact the broom closet across from Roxanne's cubicle, and the slick, smelly liquid that he was currently covered in was a selection of glass and toilet cleaners, mixed with a sampling of industrial strength disinfectant sprays. The long, rigid mystery item he had attempted to use to pull himself up with was nothing other than the janitor's mop, which was now laying splayed across he hallway floor.

As the dimwitted cameraman's eyes surveyed the disaster that he had just created in his attempt to break free from his makeshift prison, his attention was drawn by a ruckus about twenty feet ahead in the doorway of what looked like the copy room.

"Like, what's going on? Did I miss something?"

"_Yes_ you missed something, you idiot! It's Megamind! He blasted his way in here and kidnapped Roxanne again, and you were nowhere to be found! We didn't get a _single_ frame of video of the incident because her cameraman was too busy taking a nap in the broom closet!"

Hal's amber eyes widened in shock as he took in the scene before him; a cluster of police officers stood around the now charred doorway to the copy room taking notes and surveying the damage as several of his co-workers looked on. A group of paramedics stood over three strangely glowing cubes and, oddly enough, they held in their hands what appeared to be ordinary bottles of water.

Instructing the passel of onlookers to take several steps back, the paramedics opened their bottles and carefully tipped a few drops of the clear liquid onto the strange looking cubes. With a blinding flash of blue light, the unusual parcels were transformed instantly into three very disoriented and confused looking men.

"Oh, _no way_! That's Dave from maintenance! Dude, he got dehydrated? Whoa man, that's like, completely awesome... I can't wait to hear about this! And look, it's Carl and Bob from accounting!_ Ha_! They're complete douches, man. They totally deserved it! "

Not being a man who was particularly quick on the uptake, Hal continued to ramble on annoyingly about how amazing this turn of events was as his speechlessly angry boss looked on. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightening, the truth of what his superior had just said struck home. "Wait a minute, did you just say... Megamind kidnapped Roxanne, _again_?"

Greg stared in shocked silence for a moment at the dense redhead in front of him; he had _no_ clue why this man was still employed there.

"_YES_! Weren't you listening to anything I said? Now if you want to keep your job, you'd better get your _ass_ to the van and find out where Megamind... "

Although Hal's sweaty, red faced boss continued to shout angrily at him with profanity filled threats that ranged from loss of life, limb, and his employment at Channel 8 news, he found that his mind was only capable of focusing on one thing. The image of a yellow file folder bursting at the seams with hard earned information about Metro City's number one villain floated terrifyingly through his mind's eye.

Despite his usual inability to keep quiet for more than a few seconds at a time, the only words the typically big-mouthed cameraman found he was capable of forming in his mind at that particular moment were _Oh... my... god. It's gone! Megamind must have it; oh no... she's gonna freaking KILL me!_

* * *

**_Voila'! _There you have it. Hope you had a little fun along the way!**

**Thank you so much for following The File all the way through to the end, it means the world to me. Really, it honestly does. And please leave a review if you're feeling the urge, I'd love to hear from you!**

**Just in case, you might want to keep your eyes out... I have a half baked idea for a "sequel" of sorts. Not sure how long it might be before I could get to it (I have a lot of other stories I need to work on first), but if I get enough interest from my lovely readers in the idea of a continuation sometime down the road, I might just do it.**

**For those of you who might be wondering if I've abandoned Dangerous Secret... nope, I haven't. So sorry for the incredibly long delay on that one, but I'll be getting back to it soon. I haven't forgotten it, I promise! :) **


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